Attorney General to review lease of School Board property

Published: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 at 4:05 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 at 11:29 p.m.

The state Attorney General’s Office is investigating a complaint filed against the Terrebonne Parish School Board regarding its lease of the former Houma Elementary School property.

The office received an anonymous phone call alleging the state’s process for leasing and selling publicly owned property was not followed by the School Board, said Amanda Papillion Larkins, Attorney General’s Office director of communications.

According to state law, bids for a property’s lease must be advertised for 15 days, and bids for a property’s sale must be advertised for 30 days.

Officials from the Attorney General’s Office have contacted School Board attorney Clayton “Sonny” Lovell about the issue, Larkins said, and the matter is being examined.

Superintendent Philip Martin said Lovell has submitted the necessary documentation to the state office detailing how the School Board went about leasing the property at the corner of Grinage and Academy streets in downtown Houma.

“I’m confident that someone from the Attorney General’s Office will look into it and see that we did it right,” Martin said. “And if they find we didn’t, we will correct that.”

Questions concerning the process have circulated since the School Board voted to put it on the market for lease or sale at its June 18 meeting.

At that meeting, several School Board members raised eyebrows at the property’s appraisal. The 3.43-acre property was appraised for $882,000, according to Logan Babin Real Estate and Appraisals. But the historic, two-story school building on site was not included in the estimate.

“(Logan) Babin did not include the building because he thinks there will be a negative value to the building,” Martin told the lands committee. “The building is a liability.”

Board member Roosevelt Thomas argued the building had to be worth something, even if just a penny. He said he didn’t want the board to give it away.

Still, Martin did not seek an appraisal of the building, which serves as office space for the district’s special education and federal departments. About 80 employees work there now, but they will be moved to the former West Park Elementary School, one of the four schools recently shut down to save money, once it is prepared for occupancy. That will be in the next six months, Martin said.

Bids for the property’s lease closed June 25 with one interested party. HRI Properties, a New Orleans-based real estate development company and part of Terrebonne Revitalization Company, was the only bidder on the lease. HRI, known for renovating historic sites, offered the School Board $1,000 a month for 12 months to lease the property, according to the bid.

Bids for the sale of the same property were scheduled to close July 1, but the School Board suddenly stopped accepting them June 26. Lydia Alleman, school district purchasing agent and grant specialist, said the bidding was pulled because the board was “having issues with the timeline.”

The bid to lease the property, however, remained intact, she said.

Before the board pulled the bids for the sale, Martin said HRI Properties had expressed interest in purchasing the property.

The lease, signed by Board President Roger DeHart June 28, went before the board at its July 2 meeting, and it was approved 7-2. Board members Debi Benoit and Brenda Leroux Babin voted against it.

At that meeting, Martin said the lease, which could be canceled at any time, was acting as a placeholder until the company could purchase the property. The company needed to have some type of hold on the property in order to apply for grant money for renovations, he said.

Babin said the deal didn’t seem right.

“It’s not this board’s responsibility to enter into a lease agreement with a company just so they can get a grant,” she said at the meeting. “This is a fake lease, basically. To me, that feels funny.”

Asked what the attachment was to that particular company, Martin said it was recommended by a “very high-ranking parish government official.” But, he said, he didn’t care who bought it in the end, adding “it doesn’t have to be HRI; it could be the man in the moon.”

For now, he said, he is looking out for the best interest of the school district.

<p>The state Attorney General's Office is investigating a complaint filed against the Terrebonne Parish School Board regarding its lease of the former Houma Elementary School property.</p><p>The office received an anonymous phone call alleging the state's process for leasing and selling publicly owned property was not followed by the School Board, said Amanda Papillion Larkins, Attorney General's Office director of communications. </p><p>According to state law, bids for a property's lease must be advertised for 15 days, and bids for a property's sale must be advertised for 30 days.</p><p>Officials from the Attorney General's Office have contacted School Board attorney Clayton “Sonny” Lovell about the issue, Larkins said, and the matter is being examined.</p><p>Superintendent Philip Martin said Lovell has submitted the necessary documentation to the state office detailing how the School Board went about leasing the property at the corner of Grinage and Academy streets in downtown Houma.</p><p>“I'm confident that someone from the Attorney General's Office will look into it and see that we did it right,” Martin said. “And if they find we didn't, we will correct that.”</p><p>Questions concerning the process have circulated since the School Board voted to put it on the market for lease or sale at its June 18 meeting. </p><p>At that meeting, several School Board members raised eyebrows at the property's appraisal. The 3.43-acre property was appraised for $882,000, according to Logan Babin Real Estate and Appraisals. But the historic, two-story school building on site was not included in the estimate.</p><p>“(Logan) Babin did not include the building because he thinks there will be a negative value to the building,” Martin told the lands committee. “The building is a liability.”</p><p>Board member Roosevelt Thomas argued the building had to be worth something, even if just a penny. He said he didn't want the board to give it away.</p><p>Still, Martin did not seek an appraisal of the building, which serves as office space for the district's special education and federal departments. About 80 employees work there now, but they will be moved to the former West Park Elementary School, one of the four schools recently shut down to save money, once it is prepared for occupancy. That will be in the next six months, Martin said.</p><p>Bids for the property's lease closed June 25 with one interested party. HRI Properties, a New Orleans-based real estate development company and part of Terrebonne Revitalization Company, was the only bidder on the lease. HRI, known for renovating historic sites, offered the School Board $1,000 a month for 12 months to lease the property, according to the bid.</p><p>Bids for the sale of the same property were scheduled to close July 1, but the School Board suddenly stopped accepting them June 26. Lydia Alleman, school district purchasing agent and grant specialist, said the bidding was pulled because the board was “having issues with the timeline.”</p><p>The bid to lease the property, however, remained intact, she said.</p><p>Before the board pulled the bids for the sale, Martin said HRI Properties had expressed interest in purchasing the property.</p><p>The lease, signed by Board President Roger DeHart June 28, went before the board at its July 2 meeting, and it was approved 7-2. Board members Debi Benoit and Brenda Leroux Babin voted against it.</p><p>At that meeting, Martin said the lease, which could be canceled at any time, was acting as a placeholder until the company could purchase the property. The company needed to have some type of hold on the property in order to apply for grant money for renovations, he said.</p><p>Babin said the deal didn't seem right.</p><p>“It's not this board's responsibility to enter into a lease agreement with a company just so they can get a grant,” she said at the meeting. “This is a fake lease, basically. To me, that feels funny.”</p><p>Asked what the attachment was to that particular company, Martin said it was recommended by a “very high-ranking parish government official.” But, he said, he didn't care who bought it in the end, adding “it doesn't have to be HRI; it could be the man in the moon.”</p><p>For now, he said, he is looking out for the best interest of the school district.</p><p>“We have one simple intent: sell an old building.”</p>